The Shepherd Psalm: A Meditation Part 3

Oh cleanse me now, my Lord, I cannot stay For evening shadows and a silent hour: Now I have sinned, and now with no delay, I claim Thy promise and its total power.

O Saviour, bid me go and sin no more, And keep me always 'neath the mighty flow Of Thy perpetual fountain, I implore That Thy perpetual cleansing I may fully know.

--_Frances Ridley Havergal_

O wandering sheep, backslidden soul, may the Saviour find you today, put His strong arms around about you, bring you back again into the fold, keep you from wandering, teach you all you need to know, until the gloaming, until after having washed the last sleep from your eyes in the river of life, you place your last climbing footstep on the threshold of our Father's house to go out no more.

Callest Thou thus, O Master, callest Thou thus to me?

I am weary and heavy laden, and longing to come to Thee; And out in the distant darkness Thy dear voice sounds so sweet, But I am not worthy, not worthy, O Master, to kiss Thy feet.

"Child!" said the gracious Master, "why turnest thou thus away, When I came through the darkness seeking my sheep that have gone astray?

I know thou art heavy laden, I know thou hast need of me And the feet of thy loving Master are weary with seeking thee."

Callest Thou thus, O Master, callest Thou thus to me?

When my untrimmed lamp is dying and my heart is not meet for Thee; For Thou art so great and holy, and mine is so poor a home, And I am not worthy, not worthy, O Master, that Thou shouldst come.

"Child," said the tender Shepherd--and His voice was very sweet-- "I only ask for a welcome, and rest for my weary feet."

Then over my lonely threshold, though weak and defiled by sin, Though I am not worthy, O Master, I pray Thee enter in.

--_Helen Marion Burnsides_

=_Christ the Restorer_=

Do I not speak to a soul who once has known Christ as the Good Shepherd, but has now wandered away from the fold?

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, But yet in love He sought me, And on His shoulders gently laid, He home rejoicing brought me.

--_Sir Henry W. Baker_

May I not remind you of the Master's own parable, "What man of you, having one hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which has gone astray, until he find it?" May I impress upon the words _until he find it_? He will not cease the search until He has found the sheep. It has been said that the first verse of this Psalm may be translated, "The +LORD+ is my Shepherd, I shall not be _missing_." "O love that will not let me go."

The Shepherd stands at the door of the sheepfold and counts the sheep, his one hundred sheep. He counts to ninety-nine. One is missing. He cannot rest until that last one is found. The door of the sheepfold is closed, and out into the darkness and cold and pain of the night the shepherd goes until he finds his lost sheep, and on his shoulders he carries it back to the fold, then calls upon his neighbors to rejoice with him. He has found his lost sheep.

There were ninety and nine that safely lay In the shelter of the fold, But one was out on the hills away, Far off from the gates of gold-- Away on the mountains wild and bare, Away from the tender Shepherd's care.

Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine; Are they not enough for Thee?

But the Shepherd made answer, "This of mine Has wandered away from me, And although the road be rough and steep, I go to the desert to find my sheep."

But none of the ransomed ever knew How deep were the waters crossed, Nor how dark was the night that the Lord pa.s.sed through Ere He found His sheep that was lost.

Out in the desert He heard its cry-- Sick and helpless, and ready to die.

Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way That mark out the mountain's track?

They were shed for one who had gone astray Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.

Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?

They are pierced tonight by many a thorn.

But all through the mountains, thunder-riven, And up from the rocky steep, There arose a glad cry to the gates of heaven, Rejoice! I have found my sheep!

And the angels echoed around the throne, Rejoice, for the +LORD+ brings back His own!

--_Elizabeth C. Clephane_

"=_The Paths of Righteousness_="

"He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

These words are strikingly significant, and show forth the tender aspect of G.o.d's guidance. Ofttimes, after rain, the heavy wagon wheels would leave deep ruts in the road, which in cold weather would become hardened and make it difficult for the sheep to walk. Not such roads did the true shepherd willingly choose for his sheep. If compelled, however, to take such roads, he would choose those that had been flattened down by wagon wheels until level. He chose those roads that had been worn smooth, that the tender feet of the sheep might not be bruised. "He leadeth me in smooth roads." "Thou didst sustain them in the wilderness; their feet swelled not."

He who follows the divine leading will always be led aright. His feet will travel in "right roads." No man will go wrong who follows Christ.

He never leads the soul into questionable places, and no feet guided by Him will go into any place where He Himself does not go. "Where I am, there shall my servant be." "He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness." "G.o.d is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellows.h.i.+p with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." Sometimes the road He chooses may not be after our liking, but it will always be for our best interest, welfare and usefulness. This fact will eventually be made clear to us, and we will gladly go with Him all the way.

I said, "Let me walk in the fields,"

He said, "No, walk in the town,"

I said, "There are no flowers there,"

He said, "No flowers, but a crown."

I said, "But the skies are black; There is nothing but noise and din,"

But He wept as He sent me back-- "There is more," He said, "there is sin."

I said, "But the air is thick, And fogs are veiling the sun,"

He answered, "Yet souls are sick, And souls in the dark, undone."

I said, "I shall miss the light, And friends will miss me, they say."

He answered: "Choose tonight If I am to miss you or they."

I pleaded for time to be given.

He said, "It is hard to decide?

It will not seem hard in heaven, To have followed the steps of your guide."

I cast one look at the fields, Then set my face to the town.

He said, "My child, do you yield?

Will you leave the flowers for the crown?"

Then into His hand went mine, And into my heart came He; And I walk in a light divine, The paths I had feared to see.

--_George MacDonald_

"=_His Name's Sake_="

All this He does for His name's sake. How beautiful those words are, "_for His name's sake_." Christ's own glory is involved in the security and care of His children. The physician cares for your child who is sick unto death, for your sake, it is true, but for "his own name's sake" as well. To lose your child would hurt his reputation and practice. The lawyer protects his client for his client's sake, it is true, but also, and perhaps more so, for "his own name's sake." To lose the case would be to hurt his standing in the legal profession. The pilot guides the s.h.i.+p safely into harbor for the pa.s.sengers' sake, it is true, but more particularly for "his own name's sake," for to lose the s.h.i.+p would be to lose his license.

We remember that Jesus said, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory." He also said, "And of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none."

Christ Himself is the door. His broad figure and bulk fills it. Who shall strip Him of His power, or rob Him of His sheep? He is the secret of the security of the believer; yea, He is the security itself. We are hid in Him. It is rather the perseverance of the Christ than of the believer. Here, then, is the security of the believer, saved and kept for "His own name's sake."

How proud we are of someone who is named after us! We have more solicitude and care for the child that carries our name than for other children. _For His name's sake_, therefore, is an indication of the intense, intimate interest and care of the Christ for His people. Do we not recall what Moses said to Jehovah when He said He thought to destroy the people of Israel? Did not Moses plead thus with G.o.d, "If thou dost destroy them, what shall we say to the nations, and what wilt thou do for thine own name's sake?"